NewsAccidents/Incidents
Delta Airbus A330 Returns To Amsterdam Over Bird Strike
A Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300 returned to Amsterdam on July 26 after suffering a bird strike as it was just preparing for the Atlantic Ocean crossing. The incident occurred while the 16.8-year-old former Northwest Airlines widebody was performing Delta flight number DL-73 from Amsterdam to Atlanta.
Link
Volotea Boeing 717 Rejects Takeoff Due To Bird Strike
A Volotea Boeing 717-200 performing flight number V7-172 from Pantelleria Airport (PNL) to Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) had to reject takeoff after having suffered a bird strike. The incident happened on the tiny Italian island of Pantelleria on July 26 at 08:35. The rear twin-engined aircraft was attempting to take off with 95 people on board.
Link
Ukraine Starts Negotiations With Iran Over 737 Crash Compensation
The first round of talks has concluded in Kyiv between government representatives of Ukraine and Iran over compensation for the downing of flight PS752. The Boeing 737 was brought down by an Iranian missile on January 8th and intense controversy has surrounded the incident ever since – not just because of the act itself, but because of Iran’s handling of the crisis.
Link
United Boeing 787-10 Cleared To Land On Occupied Runway In Paris
A United Airlines 787-10 had a near-miss in Paris last month when ATC cleared it to land on an unexpected runway. As the runway was parallel to the original target, it was no big issue to make the switch. The problem was, there was already an aircraft on that runway. Here’s what happened.
LinkGlobal News
Which Countries Can Europeans Currently Fly To?
For now, it seems like making vacation plans is a matter of consistently following the news and not committing to a particular destination. Thanks to COVID-19, the world is a different place than it was last summer, with several nations closing their borders to help combat the spread of this deadly virus.
Link
India Extends International Flight Suspension Until September
As India’s coronavirus situation fails to improve, the country’s civil aviation body is once again extending its suspension on international passenger flights for another month, until August 31st. International flights were suspended in March to contain the spread of coronavirus, and the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been extending this suspension regularly ever since. This has been pushed back every few weeks.
Link
Brazil Reopens Borders Despite No Decrease In COVID Cases
While countries all over the world are deciding to reopen their international borders only after their coronavirus situations have stabilized and been contained, Brazil is taking a different approach. As of July 29th, the country has reopened itself up to international air travel and foreign tourists once again – something that had been banned since March.
LinkCommercial
Antonov An-225 Mriya returns to service after month-long checkup
After returning to base for a routine checkup of its six engines that lasted for a month, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest operating aircraft, is finally back into the skies. Its first mission is taking it to Bangor International Airport (BGR), United States.
Link
Comac ARJ21 completes flight testing at world's highest airport
Comac’s regional aircraft ARJ21 has conducted a test flight at the world’s highest civilian airport Daocheng Yading (4411 meters above the sea level), located in Sichuan province, southwest China.
The airports built in high altitudes tend to have thinner air, difficult terrain, and frequent weather changes – that all rises the requirements for aircraft’s capabilities.
Link
Boeing's Concorde Competitor: The 2707 - Why Was It Canceled?
The Boeing 2707 Super Sonic Transport (SST) was the United States’ answer to Europe’s Concorde. The manufacturer designed it to be larger, fly further, and have greater capacity than its counterpart across the Atlantic Ocean. However, the project was canceled in 1971, before two prototypes of the plane were completed.
Link
Demystifying Aircraft Registration Codes
Covering the wide world of commercial aviation, Simple Flying will often report on aircraft incidents. We’ll also write about the first deliveries of a type to an airline or notable retirements. We’ve also recently run a series on the oldest aircraft of a particular type of model. One common thread that runs through all of these articles is that aircraft registration codes are mentioned.
LinkAirlines
BA retires historical all-business BA1 trans-Atlantic flight
British Airways (BA) confirmed to AeroTime that it will terminate the historical all-business class flight BA1/BA2 between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and London City Airport (LCY) with the Airbus A318 as the parent company of BA, International Airlines Group (IAG), announced it was retiring the A318 fleet.
Link
Air Canada blames government for massive losses
As the Canadian flag carrier Air Canada announced a massive loss for its second quarter of 2020, it pointed fingers at its own government, blaming it for the lackluster demand.
The company’s revenue shrunk by 89%, while its net loss exceeded CAD1.7 billion ($1.3 billion).
Link
An airline closure in sight? United drops ExpressJet contract
ExpressJet will start to downscale its operations as United Airlines drops its long-running contract with the regional firm leaving it on its own in the midst of a crisis.
United’s statement came on July 30, 2020, presenting the decision to consolidate all outsourced flights of Embraer ERJ-145s to CommutAir, another airline partially owned by United, thus ending the contract with ExpressJet.
Link
KLM announces 5,000 layoffs as losses soar
AirFrance-KLM declared a total of 10,000 employees are to become redundant as the group looks to minimize its costs.
The Dutch national carrier announced its plans to lay off 1,100 employees in addition to 2,000 who took voluntary redundancy packages. According to a statement by the airline, a further 1,500 positions would need to be eliminated.
Link
Can I Drink My Own Alcohol If The Airline Doesn't Offer It?
One of the most annoying things about flying is the rip-off prices the airlines charge for everything, including in-flight drinks. However, in these changing times, in-flight services are being cut to restrict contact between cabin crew and passengers. So, if the airline doesn’t offer alcoholic drinks, can you drink your own alcohol on a flight?
Link
Air Canada Reported A C$1.555 Billion Loss For The Second Quarter
Air Canada has announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2020 in a recent statement. The airline said on Friday that it had lost C$1.555bn (US$1.16bn) during this period.
Link
British Airways Pilots Vote To Accept Temporary Pay Cuts
British Airways and its pilots have reached a deal to avoid mass layoffs. Amid the current crisis, the flag carrier of the United Kingdom has been working to come out of the other side stronger and prepared to deal with a reduced demand environment. As part of the deal, the pilots will see a temporary pay cut.
Link
How The Airline Deregulation Act Shook Up US Aviation
President Jimmy Carter introduced the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978. This law removed federal government control over many critical aspects of the aviation industry. Subsequently, there was a significant shift within the United States market, with some effects still being felt today.
Link
The History Of Transavia - KLM's Low Cost Subsidiary
Started by an American with three DC-6s in 1965, low-cost-carrier Transavia has grown to become the second-largest airline in the Netherlands. Now wholly-owned by its parent compatriot KLM, what began as a small-scale charter operation has grown to reach close to 90 destinations in over 20 counties. Let’s take a look at how it got there.
Link
British Airways Hints That The Airbus A380 Will Return To The Sky
British Airways’ parent company IAG has hinted that the Airbus A380 could return to the skies. The remark was made in a presentation of the group’s second-quarter results to investors earlier today.
Link
Bamboo Airways Operates Inaugural German Flight Amid Munich Plans
In March, Bamboo Airways signed a memorandum of understanding with Munich Airport regarding launching flights to the German city. On Wednesday, the young Vietnamese carrier operated its first flight to Germany as part of its series of European repatriations. However, rather than heading to Munich, the flight operated to Frankfurt.
LinkAirports
Demystifying Airport Codes
For most readers (who we assume love to fly), it’s relatively common knowledge that every airport has a unique three-letter code associated with it. From tickets to barcoded luggage tags to boarding passes, you’ll see these IATA-administered codes everywhere. On some flight tracking services, there might be a slightly different four-letter airport code. While pilots and industry-insiders know what the difference is, the knowledge isn’t common to everyone. Let’s jump into the world of airport codes and try to make some sense of it all.
Link
Airports issue warning against governments’ inconsistent travel restrictions
Europe’s airport and airline associations have written to Prime Ministers, Transport, Health and Home Affairs Ministers across the European Union, Schengen and the UK, highlighting serious concern over the failure to implement coherent and science-based approaches to travel restrictions.
Link
Osaka Airport to reopen North and South terminals following renovation
The reopening of the North and South terminals of Osaka International Airport (ITM) – operated by Kansai Airports and VINCI Airports – will take place on 5 August 2020. Since February 2016, the airport has been undergoing major renovation works, with a view to transforming the airport into a must-see destination for both local residents and passengers.
Link
Aviation Quote
No guts, no glory. If you are going to shoot him down, you have to get in there and mix it up with him.
- General Frederick C. 'Boots' Blesse, USAF.
Daily Video
Editor's Choice
Trivia
Boeing 737 launch customers
Need a hint ? Send me a message
1. 737-100
2. 737-200
3. 737-300
4. 737-400
5. 737-500
6. 737-600
7. 737-700
8. 737-700ER
9. 737-800
10. 737-900
11. 737-900ER
12. 737 MAX 7
13. 737 MAX 8
14. 737 MAX 200
15. 737 MAX 9
16. 737 MAX 10
